Big Ideas in Beginning Reading

Content Experts

The following people have made significant contributions to the content presented in this website, and to the field of scientifically-based reading research over many years of rigorous and sophisticated study.

Dr. Carrie Thomas Beck

Dr. David Chard

Dr. Michael Coyne

Michael Coyne is associate professor and Program Coordinator of Special Education at the Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut. He is also a Research Scientist at the Center for Behavioral Education and Research. He has expertise in school based reading and vocabulary intervention research, beginning reading curriculum and instruction, school-wide reading improvement, and effective practices for students with learning disabilities.

Dr. Lana Edwards

Dr. Hank Fien

Dr. Roland Good

Dr. Roland Good is an associate professor at the University of Oregon. Before coming to Oregon in 1988, he taught at the University of Pittsburgh. His areas of expertise include early literacy research, measurement, statistics, and research design courses. Dr. Good received his undergraduate degree in elementary and special education, and has two years experience as a teacher in elementary general education and special education classrooms. He earned his doctorate from The Pennsylvania State University in School Psychology and has two years experience as a school psychologist.

Dr. Good has served on the editorial review boards of four professional journals including School Psychology Review, the official journal of the National Association of School Psychologists and The Journal of Special Education. He has also been an Associate Editor for School Psychology Quarterly, the official journal of Division 16 of the American Psychological Association.

Dr. Good has lead the program of research and development culminating in the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) and the DIBELS Data System. Many of his presentations and papers have addressed Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills and Curriculum-Based Measurement procedures for children with mild disabilities.

Dr. Good recently served as a national assessment expert on the Secretary's Reading Leadership Academy, Assessment Committee. As a member of the Assessment Committee Dr. Good assisted in professional development academies for state leaders preparing Reading First proposals and assisted in the review of the scientific evidence for assessment measures with respect to the requirements of Reading First.

Dr. Good has contributed as principle investigator, co-principle investigator, or research faculty on 12 federally-funded research and training grants. He was co-principal investigator on the Early childhood research institute on program performance measures: A growth and development approach. He has 27 publications in referred journals, 10 book chapters, and has made over 90 presentations at national conferences.

Dr. Beth Harn

Dr. Beth Harn is an Assistant Professor and researcher within the Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences at the University of Oregon. She teaches classes in Special Education and School Psychology including instructional design, educational assessment, systems level academic interventions, and has expertise in early literacy assessment, instruction, and intervention. Her research interests focus primarily on early intervention for students with reading difficulties through the implementation of schoolwide, coordinated instructional and assessment practices as well as intensive intervention efforts. She also provides professional development to states, districts, and schools nationally to support the implementation of Response to Intervention practices.

Dr. Edward J. Kame'enui

Edward J. Kame'enui, Ph. D., is the Dean-Knight Professor of Education, Director of the Institute for the Development of Educational Achievement (IDEA) and the Center on Teaching and Learning (CTL), and Associate Dean for Research and Outreach in the College of Education at the University of Oregon.

From 2005 to 2007, Dr. Kame'enui served as the first and founding Commissioner of the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), which serves as the research and statistical arm of the U. S. Department of Education. As Commissioner, he was responsible for building NCSER which included managing a budget of $100 million/year, hiring research staff and establishing the research priorities for NCSER, which serves as the primary agency responsible for funding special education research in the United States.

Dr. Kame'enui has spoken at the White House on beginning reading, participated in round tables and panel discussions with then First Lady, Mrs. Bush, including a UNESCO conference in Paris. He also served on the original advisory boards for the PBS television show "Between the Lions" and WETA's "Reading Rockets."

Dr. Kame'enui has co-authored more than a dozen college textbooks on topics related to teaching reading, curriculum design, and managing classroom behavior. He has also published more than 130 research journal articles and book chapters.

Dr. Deborah C. Simmons

Dr. Simmons is a Professor of Educational Psychology in the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University. Dr. Simmons was a speech pathologist prior to earning her doctorate from Purdue University. She has also served on the faculties of Bowling Green State University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Oregon. She has managed numerous federally funded research projects focused on reading intervention in the primary grades. She was recognized by AERA and APA with awards for outstanding articles in their journals. She was the recipient of the Jeanette Fleischner Award for outstanding contribution to the field of Learning Disabilities from the Division for Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children. Her research focuses on prevention and intervention of early reading difficulties, and strategies to enhance reading programs and accelerate achievement for struggling readers.